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Minolta Autowide
If you are a fan of eccentric cameras, then the Minolta Autowide is a great match for you. Introduced in 1958, the Autowide came at an interesting time in the history of camera evolution, when the torch was being passed from the rangefinder to the SLR. The Japanese camera market was on the rise. Camera innovation was happening at lightning speed.
The Autowide has the distinction of being only the second 35mm camera in history to have an integral, coupled light meter; it missed being the first by a very narrow margin. Regardless of this innovative feature, within about two years of production, the camera’s technology was considered commonplace at best and obsolete at worst.⠀
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The Autowide gets its name from two specific features. The first feature is the 35mm f/2.8 Rokkor lens. The second is that the shutter and aperture dials are coupled with the light meter, in order to quickly adjust and maintain exposure. This camera does not set exposure automatically, that was still about one year off, in terms of innovation. Instead, the Autowide made setting the appropriate shutter and aperture so quick and easy it was considered “automatic” and, like a number of German counterparts, it coupled the two together so that if you changed shutter, it automatically adjusted aperture to preserve the exposure value. ⠀⠀
The Autowide gets its name from two specific features. The first feature is the 35mm f/2.8 Rokkor lens. The second is that the shutter and aperture dials are coupled with the light meter, in order to quickly adjust and maintain exposure. This camera does not set exposure automatically, that was still about one year off, in terms of innovation. Instead, the Autowide made setting the appropriate shutter and aperture so quick and easy it was considered “automatic” and, like a number of German counterparts, it coupled the two together so that if you changed shutter, it automatically adjusted aperture to preserve the exposure value. ⠀⠀
This camera was cutting edge, in regards to its coupled light meter, and it also simplified other controls, notably the focus. The Autowide is not a rangefinder, just a viewfinder camera with scale focusing on its lens. The scale is conveniently broken into “P” for portraits, “G” for groups, and “S” for scenery, at infinity. It is clear that Minolta wanted to make a camera that was easy to use for the masses, while achieving high level image quality and overall build. ⠀
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Just as it has been overlooked historically, due to it's brief excerpt in camera evolution, the Autowide tends to get overlooked on our shelves, in favor of much better known (and more expensive) similar cameras. We urge you to consider it, this camera could make for a great starter 35 or, simply, another great 35mm addition to the collection.
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